


Confession

by Mysterian



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff, M/M, Party, Secret Crush
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-22
Updated: 2018-03-15
Packaged: 2018-10-22 16:26:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10700727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mysterian/pseuds/Mysterian
Summary: Having a crush on your best friend sucks.Jace wished he didn't need to hide it from Luke. He didn't want to hide the fact that his best friend was turning into his biggest crush. But when Luke invites him to a party he's having, will this be the best time for him to finally tell his best friend how he feels?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Holy shit, hi there probably the only people who will ever see this, hope you guys have a good day! :D

Jace sat in his chair, bouncing his knees up and down in anticipation. The clock on the wall ticked in the midst of the silence in the class, the hands of the clock crawling slowly as time trudged on. Jace couldn't focus at all, the class was dead silent minus the occasional coughing from students in the room. He looked forward at the teacher, Ms Stake, who was preoccupied with tapping away at her phone and wondered how she became a teacher. Who the hell gives an hour for a twenty mark test? Filled with frustration, he ran his hand through his electric blue hair and stared at the paper in front of him, which he had completed 30 minutes ago and attempted to check his answers again. He quickly switched his attention back to the clock,

5 minutes left.

He rolled his eyes with discontent and proceeded to survey the room. His eyes fell on his best friend, Luke, who was sitting in front of his, scribbling furiously on his test paper, his muscled arms showing as he wrote. Jace sighed to himself. Yes, he had a crush on Luke. Of all the people in his life, it had to be his best friend for over 5 years. He looked longingly at the brown haired male in front of him, staring at the back muscles that arched as he moved, picturing the dimples that appeared whenever he smiled, it all made Jace so happy inside, albeit a bit awkward at times when he realised he was gawking at his CLOSEST FRIEND (He had to remind himself occasionally). At this point, Jace was staring at Luke. He was so occupied with his thoughts, he didn't notice that the bell had rang and that Luke had turned around to collect his test paper. Luke tilted his head slightly and looked at Jace questioningly. He waved a hand in front of Jace's face, which snapped Jace out of his trance-like state. He smiled awkwardly and handed his paper to Luke, his face turning red with embarrassment.

"You okay, man?" Luke questioned and grabbed the paper out of Jace's hand.

"Yeah just a little tired, don't worry 'bout it." Luke answered. He placed his hands behind his head and lifted his feet up on the table, which was then immediately called out by Ms Stake, causing Luke to laugh loudly and Jace to turn even redder than before, as if it was possible. 

Then the bell rang and the class cheered triumphantly.

"All right then class, see you all whenever the next lesson we have is." Ms Stake said nonchalantly. For such a young teacher, her voice was so monotonous and boring she could have lulled everyone to sleep. She grabbed her stuff quickly and shoved it into her messenger bag and got out of the class as soon as she could, obviously not wanting to have anything to do with them any more than she needed to.

Jace grabbed all his things and walked over to the empty table beside Luke and leaned on it.

"Same place for lunch?" he asked, a smile spreading over his face as their break finally arrived.

"Yep, see you in a bit." Luke replied quickly, his British accent apparent. He waved to the blue-haired male and walked out of class and Jace let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in.

"It's so obvious that you like him, you know." Jace recognised the familiar female voice and turned around to check who it was. Florina of course, another of his good friends (One of the two, he didn't socialise that much)

"Well, he doesn't know, that's kinda all that matters." Jace smoothed his shirt out, pretending that his heart wasn't beating out of his chest.

"That's because you don't dare to tell him." She shrugged her shoulders in disappointment, "You haven't even been trying, have you?"

"I don't want to ruin what we already have." He started walking towards the door and she followed. "Besides, he isn't gay, we could never be together."

The silver-haired girl smirked, "And how would you know, you keep avoiding the topic in your conversations with him. For all you know, he could be just as interested in you as you are in him."

That got a chuckle out of him, "As if."

The two of them walked out of class together, talking to each other as Jace led them to his locker. He shoved all his books in and slammed it shut, gathering a few glances from nearby students. Damn, why did his locker have to be such a mess, as if his blue hair didn't already attract attention. He continued talking to Florina, going back and forth about why he should tell Luke how he felt.

"I don't think it would work out... He probably only sees me as a friend, why should I ruin that?" Jace shot back at Florina slightly agitated.

"BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW IF HE FEELS THE SAME!" Florina raised her voice slightly, despite sounding angry, she was smiling widely.

They walked through the school hallways and made their way to the cafeteria, which was already crowded and messy. They spotted Luke with ease (because Jace could always recognise Luke, of course,) and walked over to him.

"Heya, we're here!" Jace called out and sat opposite the Brit, with Florina on his right.

"Took you long enough, was waiting for quite some time." He said, chewing on his sandwich.

Jace took notice of the sandwich and heard his stomach growl. Despite the cafeteria being messy as all hell, he had to admit that its food was good and he would kill for a sandwich after the boring mind numbing pain that was Ms Stake's class. He bought himself a sandwich and walked back to the table, where Florina was laughing and talking to Luke.

"What did I miss?" Jace unwrapped his sandwich and started munching on it.

Luke and Florina finished talking and Luke turned back to talk to Jace.

"My parents are out of town and I'm feeling ballsy, so I'm having a party on Friday, can you make it?"


	2. Chapter 2

“W-What!?” Jace stopped chewing on his sandwich, trying his best to digest what was going on. Florina shot him a coy smile as she looked up to see his reaction. He already knew what she was thinking about.

“How ‘bout it?” Luke asked. “It’ll be fun, and you’ll finally socialise with other people.”

Jace heard him, but was too caught up thinking about the word “Party”. He could finally confes- What was he thinking? That would never happen.

Luke stared at him awkwardly as Jace seemed lost in thought. “Earth to J, come in J.” Ugh, Luke used that terrible nickname again, but it snapped Jace out and he realised that he had been standing there looking like an idiot.

He felt a blush creep onto his cheeks as he finally gathered his thoughts and answered.

“Sure, sounds fun.” God he sounded so awkward.

Luke’s awkward expression dissolved into a charming smile, making Jace blush more and smile back. Maybe going to a party wouldn’t be such a bad idea, at least he could spend more time with Luke since the school term was coming to an end.

“Great, so that’s settled then, can’t wait for this Friday!” Florina giggled playfully and winked at Jace. Yeah, he definitely knew what she was thinking.

They sat down and talked more about Luke’s plans for Friday and Jace continued munching away at his sandwich. The entire time, he thought about Luke and how he could maybe tell him how he felt, causing his stomach to twist in knots. He finished his sandwich and got up to throw his wrapper. He walked over to the bin and tossed it in, and turned around,

Only to hit a person’s tray of food and splatter it all into the guy’s face.

“Oh crap, are you okay? I’m so sorry about that, I didn’t see you.” Jace panicked and tried to help the person up, who only retaliated with a swift rejection, by form of slapping a hand into Jace’s side. He let out a grunt and stumbled backwards, finally getting a look at who hit him. It was Mason, leader of the school’s most infamous gang and rugby team. He was a lumbering giant compared to Jace, wearing a letterman’s jacket and grey sweatpants, which were all covered in mixtures of fruit cocktail and mac and cheese.

Of course it was him.

“You’re gonna die, boy.” Mason wiped a chunk of mashed potatoes and gravy off his face. Jace tried to back up, slowly closing in on the wall behind him as Mason edged closer and closer towards him, his eyes flaring with anger and fists balled up. Jace cursed his luck as his back touched the cold surface of the concrete wall and he closed his eyes and braced for whatever pain Mason would inflict on him. But it never came. He opened his eyes to see Luke standing in front of him, shielding him from Mason.

“Little runt, you think you can stop me? You’ll die too if you don’t move out of the way.” Mason roared, his face now completely red with fury. 

“Just move on man, it was just an accident,” Luke tried to reason with him, “And besides, you have to get through me before you can get him.”

Mason howled and threw a right hook at Luke, who dodged it with ease and managed to get behind him, slamming an elbow into his back. Mason screamed and swiped at his back, only to find Luke was now in front of him, a wide grin plastered on his face. Mason grabbed onto Luke’s ankle and pulled him onto the ground, which Luke retaliated against with a kick that hit Mason squarely in the jaw. That left Mason writhing on the floor in pain and he released his grip on Luke’s leg.

The room burst into an uproar as Jace stood in awe. Luke had just beaten the school’s most ferocious bully, with ease no less.

He felt a hand grab onto his own and looked up to see Luke guiding him out of the cafeteria, leaving behind a room of people laughing and booing. His face flushed a bright pink as he cherished the warmth of Luke’s hand over his.

“You okay?” Luke glanced over at Jace, checking him up and down for injuries, “Can’t believe Mason, it was all an accident but he couldn’t just let it go. He needs to chill.” Luke ranted on and on, but Jace was okay with it, so long as the warmth of Luke’s hand didn’t move away. When they finally got back to the classroom, Luke turned to Jace dreaming, his face bright pink. Luke wondered what was wrong, until he looked at his hand with the unfamiliar warmth in it and realised he was holding onto Jace’s hand. Flustered, he pulled his hand away and stared down at the floor. Jace noticed the sudden movement and snapped out of his thoughts. They both glanced up at each other before choosing to face the floor out of embarrassment.

“Um… Whoops?” Luke started, the crimson tint of his cheeks brightening even more. “We should get back into class.”

“Yeah. Good idea.”

They stepped into the class and stood at their seats, both not daring to speak, fearing any possible awkward situations.

“Guys, where have you been!?”

Florina dashed into the class and scooped both of them into a massive hug, before releasing them and settling herself onto the empty table beside Luke. Apparently, she had ran off to find a teacher when the fight broke out, but when she returned to the cafeteria, all she saw was Mason on the floor and people taunting and teasing him.

Luke chuckled and explained how he managed to beat him with Jace adding on and telling her how Mason looked as if he broke something. Florina giggled and stated how Mason had been terrorizing the younger students, and how he deserved it.

She was interrupted as the bell rang, signaling that class had started again. All of them returned to their seats and the day trudged on.

Not that Jace could remember much of it, he spent most of the day remembering how Luke’s hand felt in his, his warm touch forever etched into his mind. He only paid attention whenever he was called upon to answer or when Luke asked him questions.

The rest of the day passed by and Jace found himself walking home, along with Florina and Luke. They talked about the day and more about Luke’s plans for Friday, which Florina couldn’t contain her excitement for. This would be her first party and she couldn’t help but feel hyped for it. After five minutes of talking and walking, they passed the street that Luke lived on. His house was a large two- storey building with a wide front yard. His dogs, Zapper and Bento greeted him with loud barks as soon as he was in view. Luke bent down to pet both of them as Jace and Florina waved at the dogs.

“See you guys tomorrow then.” Luke twisted his key into the front gate and pushed it open. “Get home safely.” He said, looking up towards Jace.

They said goodbye and Florina and Jace turned back onto the road to head home.

“You know… I saw you two during the break.” Florina tried to hold back her giggling, but couldn’t “It was so cute!”

Jace felt his cheeks heat up again (As if that hadn’t happened many times already)

“Plus didn’t you see how he specifically looked at you when we left his house, he totally likes you.” She continued.

“You’re imagining things Florina.” The blue-haired male said as he continued down the road, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“C’mon, just give it a chance.” She insisted, “You won’t regret it.”

“Whatever.” He sighed, turning a corner and walking towards his front gate.

“See you tomorrow, then.” He waved goodbye to Florina, who was sticking her bottom lip out in a pout.

She let out a heavy breath as she bid farewell and turned around to head home.

Jace ran through his house, into his room and immediately flopped onto his bed.

He couldn’t get the image of him and Luke holding hands out of his head.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is part 1 of 2 for Tuesday because goddamn I can't think right now  
> TW: Slight Homophobia

Bright rays of sunlight filtered through the blinds covering his window, illuminating the dark room. Jace rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he turned to open the window. _Its unusually bright_ , he thought as he shifted the blinds out of the way, revealing the quiet street down below. _Alarm hasn’t gone off either_ , he grabbed the clock from his bedside table.

 **9:25 a.m.**  
Oh shit.

He pulled the sheets off of himself immediately and darted to the cupboard. He hadn’t been late for school in three years, so what caused the change now? He grabbed a hanging red hoodie, a pair of dark blue jeans and a white t-shirt, and ran to the bathroom just opposite his room. One quick shower later and he was out and sliding down his staircase into the living room. He didn’t have time to grab any food so he grabbed his backpack and sprinted out the door.

Twenty minutes later and he was in class, being reprimanded by his teacher for being late. He stood and tuned out the teacher’s scolding, instead choosing to focus on the questioning look on Luke’s face. 

“You haven’t been late in so long, what’s up?” Luke asked with a hint of worry in his voice. Jace just shrugged and combed through his hair with his hand. Not even he himself knew why he was late that day.

“Guess I just really love my bed.” He replied, looking back towards the whiteboard as class started. The day passed by quickly and by the time he knew it, it was time for lunch. Jace, Luke and Florina all walked out of the classroom and towards the cafeteria. Jace glanced around and saw that two guys were being shouted at by Mason. He signaled to Luke and Florina, both of whom turned to see the situation. They rushed over and realised what was happening.

“You fucking homos. Get the fuck outta’ my school” Mason shouted, his hands balled up and ready to fire. “You make me sick you disgusting shits!” Before he could let the punch fly, Luke stepped forward and intercepted it, grabbing Mason’s hand and holding it still.

“Why don’t you fuck off instead? Or do you want to get beaten like yesterday?” Luke smugly remarked, shoving the hand back to Mason. Mason’s face fell as it turned from annoyed to downright murderous. He roared and slammed forward into Luke, causing him to lose balance and stumble backwards. The couple who was being harassed followed Florina to safety at the sidelines as Luke was now caught up with Mason. The brute, seeing the opportunity, lunged forward at Luke who was regaining balance and slammed him onto the floor. Jace stared on with shock as Mason pinned Luke to the ground, his movement now limited as he kept struggling in Mason’s grip. He was fighting a losing battle.

Jace felt something inside him flare up. He felt like he had to do something.  
So he did.

He didn’t know what caused it. He couldn’t have seen it coming. Nobody could’ve.

He dashed forward to where Mason was and threw a right hook aimed directly at his head. The impact sent Mason onto the floor, groaning in pain. Jace held out a hand to Luke, who was staring wide-eyed at him, stunned by what had just happened. Jace was usually a pacifist, he couldn’t stand fighting and would rather choose talking over brawling. To see him straight up punch a person twice his size in the face was completely unexpected. Luke reached for Jace’s hand and got up, turning his attention to Mason who was on the floor writhing in pain. It didn’t seem like he would be able to get up for some time. 

“Hey, you okay?” Jace’s voice cut through Luke’s thoughts. He turned back to face Jace, who seemed to be back to his usual cheery self.

“Hmm? Yeah, thanks man.” He replied, he definitely wasn’t fine though. His legs were bruised and his chest hurt. He was still in disbelief over the fact that Jace beat Mason. 

Just then, the couple from earlier walked over to them.

“Are you two okay? How the hell did you do that?” The boy in the blue hoodie looked bewildered. He was tall and tanned, his hair parted to the left from the center of his face. His ears were pierced and he wore a grey beanie on his head.

“Thanks so much for helping us, that was fucking terrifying.” Thanked the other boy, dressed in a red jacket and black inner shirt. He had a neat undercut with hair dyed gray and wore black biker gloves. “It’s only been a week since we’ve said anything about our relationship and this happens.”

“My name’s Fletcher, this is my boyfriend, Leo.” The guy in the red jacket said, pointing to his boyfriend beside him. 

“Nice to meet ya, Im Jace and this is Luke and Florina.” Jace waved over to Luke and to Florina, who was grinning widely. “We should probably get out of here before Mason gets back up.” He continued and the 5 of them walked briskly towards the cafeteria.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wrote this at 5.30am in the morning what am I doing

“So how long have the two of you been together?” Florina asked excitedly. She was always excited to make friends with people, “Maybe you can give my friend over here some advice on how to get a boyfriend.”

Hearing that, Jace spit out his drink and turned to her with one eyebrow raised. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Florina just held her devilish grin and turned back to face Fletcher and Leo.

“Well, we’ve been together for about a month, but we’ve been best friends since we were young.” Fletcher chuckled, reminiscing about his past with Leo while reaching for his hand, “Guess we realised we liked each other sometime when we were in grade school, we just never imagined we would actually end up together though.” Leo reached over and planted a small peck on Fletcher’s cheek, who was now blushing wildly. Florina was giggling and spewing out “aww”s while Jace was trying to hide the smile growing on his face. Luke, on the other hand, was smiling widely “That’s great you two, congrats on your relationship!”

The five of them sat together and ate happily, with the occasional conversation about the events happening the entire week, when Luke chimed in, “Hey I’m having a party on Friday, it would be cool if you guys came.”

Leo turned to Fletcher and gave him a questioning glance, which Fletcher returned with a nod. “Sure, why not. Here’s my number, text us the details.” Leo motioned for Luke’s phone and typed in his phone number.

Just then, the bell rang signalling the end of the lunch break.

"Well I guess that's the end of lunch, hanging out with you guys was really fun, we should hang out like this some other times too." Leo beamed. He stood up together with Fletcher, waved goodbye, and returned to class.

"Hey, we should get to class too." Florina chimed in and the three of them stood up and started walking back to class. 

On the way back, they passed the aftermath of their previous scene. There was dried blood on the floor, the crowd had dispersed but there were still people sharing suspicious glances towards the trio. Florina and Luke didn't pay them much mind but Jace couldn't get his mind off of what happened. The whisperings and occasional mentions of his name were enough to make him feel anxious.

"Hey, don't worry about it." Luke broke through his thoughts, his face full of empathy. He reached for Jace's hand and squeezed it tight to try and wake him up.

"Y-yeah." Jace stammered. A blush crept onto his face and he turned away to hide it. Florina was loving every moment of it.

Everyone sat down at their tables and the day trudged along as usual, Jace was called on a few times to answer questions, Luke and Florina usually answered the questions for him and everything went by painfully slowly.

The end of the day was signalled with a loud bell ringing and students all around cheering happily.

As the students flooded out of the classroom, Luke piped up, "Hey, I need to get something from the office i'll be back in a few minutes. Meet at the courtyard?"

"Yeah I have to meet Ms Stake for homework too, see you two later." Florina added.

With that, both Florina and Luke stepped out of the class, leaving Jace alone. He stepped out of class and walked over to the school courtyard.

Upon reaching the courtyard, Jace sat down at an unoccupied table and began doing the day's homework to pass time.

It wasn't long till someone slammed their fist onto the table, causing Jace to jump slightly.

It was Mason.

"Thought you could get away with it huh?" He growled, moving closer to Jace, his tone laced with malice and anger. "I'm not done with you or your little boyfriend yet."

Jace stood up immediately and did the only thing he could think of. He ran. As fast as he could. He didn't care where he was running as long as it was away from Mason. He was stuck alone, chased by the biggest, toughest person in school who wanted nothing but to rip his head clean off of his neck, which wouldn't have been pleasant at all.

So Jace ran as fast as he could, past the school building to the plaza, where students we're sitting around having conversations or eating lunch. Most of them turned their heads towards him as he sped past them in an attempt to escape from Mason, who was steadily gaining on him. Jace didn't want to admit it, but the lazy lifestyle of not exercising certainly was not paying off in that situation.

He turned into the school building, and ran through the halls, starting to slow down. He turned and saw Mason still behind him, this time shouting curses and swears all directed at him. Jace had no choice but to stop running and face Mason, he was exhausted.

Mason charged towards him, his arms out to try and grab Jace. With whatever energy he had left, Jace dodged out of his grip and slammed into the lockers. Mason, completely undeterred, turned to him and charged, this time aiming to pim him to the ground.

He collided with Jace, slamming him to the ground before throwing a punch that hit Jace square in the jaw. The coppery taste of blood filled his mouth as he laid there helplessly. His vision was going blurry as Mason threw another punch, this one hitting him just around his jaw, sending blood flying out of Jace's mouth.

"This is what you get for fucking hitting me." Mason spat out as he raised his fist again. Jace braced for the impact, Mason could probably kill him right there.

Just then, Luke burst down the stairs. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He shouted and he rushed over and kicked Mason off of Jace. He turned to the teenagers nearby using their phones to record the scene, "don't just stand there, fucking help us." A couple of them rushed to get a nurse from the infirmary while one ran to find any teacher they could.

"Jace, hold on man we're gonna get you some help. Just stay awake, okay?" Luke assured him, only receiving a weak nod from Jace. He was bleeding badly and definitely needed serious medical attention and Luke hoped he wasn't too late to help him.

Mason, who was only temporarily stunned by the kick, got up with murder in his eyes. "You're both fucking dead." He screamed as he slammed in Luke, pushing him off of Jace. Luke shook off the attack and shifted around Mason, landing a hard kick in the small of his back. Mason cried out in pain as he turned around and tried to punch Luke but he moved quickly and dodged the hit. Luke was about to punch Mason in the jaw when a voice rang out.

"Stop what you're doing right NOW!" The man protested. He was the principle, Mr McConnell. "What the hell do you think you're doing Mason!?" He continued. Mason froze in his tracks and stared at the ground. Mr McConnell rushed over to the three of them. "You," he pointed at Luke, "get him to the infirmary immediately." 

Luke gave a curt nod and wrapped one of Jace's arms around his neck, acting as his support. "Hey, are you okay? Try to hold on i'll get you some help. You took one hell of a beating." He smiled at Luke, who in turn smiled back, "i'm fine. Thanks for rescuing me back there. If you hadn't come who knows what would've happened."

Once the got to the infirmary, a nurse rushed him over to a spare bed and laid him on it. She checked him over and found that he had not suffered any major damage, just some cuts in his cheek and jaw where he had been punched, as well as some bruises around his body. The nurse dressed his wounds to the best of her ability, while Luke sat by his side and watched over him. Luke called Florina and five minutes later she burst into the infirmary, startling everyone inside.

"Holy crap, are you okay? Why does this keep happening to you two." She rushed to Jace's side and surveyed the damage.

"Well at least i'm not dead." Jace laughed and sat up in the bed. His head was pounding and he felt sick.

"Well you could've. Seriously, fuck Mason, why does he have to be such a prick." Florina had tears in her eyes, she cared so much for their wellbeing. "Hopefully this never happens again."

Luke nodded his head in agreement and he offered her a chair to sit beside him at the bedside.

"Seriously you guys, i'm not even that badly hurt. You guys shouldn't worry so much." Jace laughed nervously as he spoke. They had all been friends for so long it was difficult to see each other hurt.

"You should rest. The nurse said you can go home to rest if you wanted to since your injuries aren't life-threatening so if you want to, we'll escort you home." Luke said, his voice was sombre and sad. He must have felt bad for what happened, even though everyone knew it wasn't his fault.

"Yeah i guess so, let's go then, before it gets dark." Jace replied. Jace got up with the help of both Luke and Florina and he put his arm around Luke again so he wouldn't fall over. Luke grabbed Jace's bag as the three of them walked out of the infirmary together.

When they got to Jace's house, they helped him up the stairs and into his room, remarking how his apartment was too big for him to live alone in and making light conversation. Jace climbed into bed and Luke and Florina waved goodbye to him, reminding him to call if he needed anything. They then left the apartment, leaving Jace alone with his thoughts.

How did he end up with such great friends, who cared so deeply for him?

After thirty minutes of daydreaming, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and fished it out. It was a text from Luke.

"Hey, hope you're feeling better. If you feel up to it, there's a carnival in town tomorrow and I was hoping you might wanna go with me?"

Jace felt his heartbeat speed up. Skipping school tk spend a whole day with Luke? Why the hell not. He'd been through enough shit in school, a break was definitely due.

"Sure, i'll meet you there tomorrow at 10. Can't wait. :D"

Tomorrow was going to be great.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long~ Junior College life is really stressful and tiring and I can't take it tbh. Will try to finish chapter 6 by this week :D No promises though

Jace woke up to the sound of silence. No alarms, no worries about school, just a day out with Luke and oh, was he going to enjoy it. He stretched out his arms and yawned widely before pulling the covers off himself. He didn’t feel the need to rush at all, not like every other school day. Today was going to be a day of relaxation with the guy he liked, not a day of running around and avoiding Mason. He grabbed a pair of dark blue jeans and his signature red hoodie, which he had multiple of in case one got dirty, and ambled over to the bathroom for a shower.

Once he finished showering, he went back to his room and checked his phone, which was ringing wildly with notifications, including messages and missed calls from Florina, a text from Luke and a call from the school office. Jace unlocked his phone and opened the message from Florina first.

 **Florina:** _“Where are you!? Class started 20 minutes ago. Did you die? Oh please don’t tell me you died.” -9.20am_

 **Florina:** _“Answer the phone you idiot!! Honestly, it’s like you wanted to skip school today… You really shouldn’t btw.” -9.26am_

 **Florina:** _“Really!? Luke just told me you two are going to the carnival today instead of going to school? WITHOUT ME?! Fine go and have fun then. >:(“ -9.30am_

 **Florina:** _“Ugh, I love you two too much, i’ll let you copy my notes tomorrow, if you decide to come to school that is. Have fun Jace, and go for it!! ;)” -9.34am_

Jace smiled to himself. He felt so lucky to have a friend like Florina always looking out for him, even if she could be overbearing and silly at times. He tapped on the notification from Luke, switching to his texts.

 **Luke:** _“Hey, see you later! Can’t wait to go see the carnival again this year. Florina chewed me out for getting you to skip school but she said she wouldn’t tell a soul, so I guess we’re safe for now. Thanks for coming with me today btw! :D” -9.40am_

Jace felt his heart beat faster. The realisation that he was going to spend an entire day with the guy he liked hit him again and again, like waves crashing against a rocky shore. His grin widened more and he dreamt up all the ways the day could possibly go. Maybe they’d win some prizes and go on rides together.

However, that was short-lived when he remembered that the school office called him too. They found out that he wasn’t in school, and that he didn’t give a valid reason for absence. Jace pondered on how he could explain why he wasn’t in school, but everything he thought of had loopholes and inconsistencies. He steeled himself and told himself not to worry about it and to deal with the consequences when the time arrived. Once he realised the time on his phone read “9.50am”, Jace walked through his house, down the staircase and out the door, heading off to the carnival to meet Luke.

The carnival was being held at Deesa Pier down by the seaside, and when Jace got there, he could see the area packed with people of all ages. Some were kids who skipped school to visit the carnival, just like him and Luke, some were adults who didn’t have anything to do or were just browsing around using the free time they had.

Near the entrance, Jace spotted Luke standing silently, surveying the area in search of him. He wore a white t-shirt with a light blue shirt over it and navy blue jeans. Jace waved at Luke, who then saw him and waved back as Jace walked towards him.

“Hey, great to see you again.” Luke said cheerfully, a smile plastered onto his face. Jace could feel his heart race as he tried to gather words to say.

“Nice to see you too! It’s about time we took some time off from all the hectic stuff going on in school.” Jace replied, running his fingers through his hair. Luke nodded and the two of them headed inside.

The carnival was huge, with different attractions and even rides installed just for the carnival. There were a few roller coasters, many carnival game and food stalls and even a huge ferris wheel towards the back of the pier. The two were overwhelmed by the huge variety of things to do and couldn’t decide on where to go first. 

Eventually, Luke dragged Jace over to a shooting gallery game stall named “Cowboy Gunman” The man attending to the stall explained the rules to them simply, “Aim for the cowboys as they pop up on the wall. If you manage to get certain amounts of points, you get to claim different prizes.” He then pointed to the wall beside him, where there were many prizes arranged from the smallest to biggest. Luke stared starry-eyed at a huge plush dragon hanging on the wall, which Jace noticed almost immediately since it was also the biggest prize the store offered. 

“How good are you at aiming? I really want that dragon plush…” Luke asked Jace, while still staring at the stuffed toy hanging on the wall. He seemed really entranced by it.

“I mean, i’ve only fired virtual guns in video games, I might not be too good at this.” Jace replied, looking at the small revolver-like pellet gun on the table in front of them.

“Then i’ll try first.” Luke stepped forward and handed over the cash to the man at the stall. He then picked up the gun and aimed it as the man started up the game. The cowboys came up randomly and Luke tried his best to aim for every cowboy but eventually, they increased in speed and aiming at all of them became too difficult, causing him to miss quite a few shots. When the time ran out, Luke had scored enough to get him a keychain with the design of the cowboys on it. He seemed saddened that he didn’t win the dragon.  
“Hey don’t worry, i’ll win it for you.” Jace reassured Luke, causing his face to light up with hope once again. Jace handed over the money and reloaded the gun, then waited for the man to start up the game. As soon as it started, it was obvious that Jace was going to do much better. His reflexes were lightning fast and he was able to hit targets just as they were coming up. Even when the game started going faster and faster, he managed to keep up and hit each and everyone one of them. 

Once the game ended, the attendant burst into applause. “Wow, you’re the first person today who’s won the biggest prize. I have to say that was really impressive.” He reached over for the big dragon plush and passed it to Jace, once again congratulating him on his success. Jace took the dragon plus and plopped it into Luke’s lap. Luke’s face lit up and he grinned from ear to ear, never-ending thanks and praise falling from his lips. 

“How did you even managed to do that? You were so good!” He chuckled as he congratulated Jace. 

“Beginners luck I guess,” Jace shrugged his shoulder, “I wanted to give you that dragon plush as a way to thank you for sticking by me all these years, and coming to my rescue against Mason so often.” His face heated up as he tried to thank Luke sincerely. Luke smiled back warmly as he hugged the plush close to his body. The two of them thanked the stall attendant and walked away discussing what they should name the dragon.


End file.
